TMA response on government proposals to restrict tobacco sales

In anticipation of the Government’s Cancer Reform Strategy (CRS) proposals to impose further restrictions on the sale of tobacco the Tobacco Manufacturers’ Association (TMA) supports the following:

• Prevention of those under the legal age of 18 years from accessing tobacco products;
• Retention of tobacco product displays at the point of sale in shops;
• The continuation of the sale of 10-packs of cigarettes;
• Continued use of tobacco vending machines with age-controlled access.

(The TMA’s key positions on the government’s proposals are given below in the Notes to Editors)

Chris Ogden, Director of the Tobacco Manufacturers’ Association (TMA), said:

“The TMA completely agrees with the Government that children should not smoke and should be actively discouraged from doing so. The vast majority of retailers in England are committed to upholding the law on age-related sales and we remain committed to retailer proof-of-age programmes such as ‘CitizenCard’ and ‘No ID, No Sale’ as the most effective way to stop children accessing cigarettes. We fully support sanctions against those retailers who sell to young people, and welcome stronger enforcement of the law to prevent underage sales.

“While we welcome any sensible proposals that will assist in preventing the sale of tobacco to children under the age of 18, any proposals should be supported by credible evidence that they would address the government’s stated objectives.

“We believe that any regulatory proposals on tobacco sales must strike a balance between pursuing public health policy objectives and allowing adults the freedom of choice to smoke and the right of retailers to display and sell a legal product. There is real concern from many stakeholders that some of the proposed regulations, such as display restrictions and a ban on 10s packs of cigarettes, could have serious unintended consequences, such as increasing an already large illicit market in tobacco.”

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Chris Ogden, TMA Director will be available for interviews on 30/31 May.

For further information please contact:

Dirk Vennix, Director of Communications
t: 020 7544 0109
m: 07872 376748
e: dvennix@the-tma.org.uk

Notes to Editors:

The TMA is the trade association for tobacco companies that operate in the UK. Our members are British American Tobacco UK Ltd (bat.com), Gallaher Ltd (gallaher-group.com), and Imperial Tobacco Ltd. (imperial-tobacco.com).

Key TMA Positions:

1. Fully committed to youth access prevention

• The TMA is a principal stakeholder in CitizenCard (citizencard.com), the UK’s leading proof-of-age scheme [1.7m cards issued] and the No ID, No Sale (NINS: noidnosale.com) campaign operated by CitizenCard which promotes all PASS accredited (Government approved) Proof of Age / ID schemes. The key issue is that retailers must be able to establish the age of any potential customer before a sale is made.
• The NINS campaign has engaged more than 100,000 retailers nationwide and created a culture in which young people expect to be asked to prove their age, and in which retailers accept only the correct ID.

2. Support the retention of tobacco product displays at point of sale in shops

• Displays enable adult consumers to make an informed choice based on availability, price and brand from the wide range of tobacco products.
• Point of sale display is necessary for fair and undistorted competition between manufacturers and between retailers.
• Above the counter displays are necessary as they keep products secure, speed up transaction times and reduce the need for extended verbal communication.
• Tobacco is the most requested FMCG product in retail outlets, with approximately 11million smokers in the UK regularly buying tobacco products. ^[i]
• Concealing tobacco products from view will make it easier for traders of smuggled product to blend it into the legal supply chain. The efforts of tobacco companies and HMR&C have led to a reduction of smuggling of genuine tobacco products but this proposal will is likely to increase counterfeiting and illicit trade.

3. The continuation of the sale of 10-packs of cigarettes

• 10-packs provide adult consumers with choice and are primarily purchased by adult smokers who wish to control their daily consumption.
• Within the UK, 2.5million people (20% of consumers) buy 10-packs. ^[ii]
• A ban is likely to encourage more low-income smokers to seek cheaper, smuggled 20 packs (both genuine and counterfeit) from illegal sellers who do not demand proof of age. Estimates show 27% of cigarettes and 68% of hand rolling tobacco consumed in the UK during 2007 were non-UK duty paid. Around 10% of this was counterfeit. Given the prevalence and availability of smuggled and counterfeit product in the UK ^[iii] the TMA believes that it would be particularly unwise to prohibit 10-packs.

4. Support the continued use of tobacco vending machines with age-verification access

• The TMA does not support the prohibition of vending machines, which would not only prevent legitimate access by adult smokers, but also force the closure of many small businesses with consequent job losses.
• Access to cigarette vending machines should be controlled in order to prevent sales to children and the National Association of Cigarette Machine Operators (NACMO) Code of Practice on the positioning of machines should be strictly adhered to.
• The TMA believes that vending operators and manufacturers need to identify and utilize systems that enable the purchase of tobacco products by adults only.